Momma Knows Best

Glenn Beck does it again. By using his television show as a podium for the otherwise voiceless conservative, he has inspired the creation of a new network of seemingly unconquerable Americans with a mission of utmost importance. They call themselves, "The Sisterhood of the Mommy Patriots," and they are are a non-partisan group of women dedicated to saving their children and the future of America. On his book tour for Arguing with Idiots, Beck discovered a disproportionate number of moms reading his book, and in turn supporting the ideals he promotes in his work with the 9/12 Project. Within a few days, AsAMom.org was founded by Lori Parker, and within less than a week it had over 5,000 members. Lori appeared on Beck's show Friday night, and since then the site has been almost unable to sustain the colossal influx of new members.

This is brilliant. These women are literally the heart and soul of the American family, and an untapped resource as a voice for the everyday American. They are quite possibly the most self-sacrificing and hardest-working group of people in this country. They are the engine behind the American machine. And also worth noting, they're angry. They're angry that our President and his administration are robbing their children of the money that belongs to them; they're angry that elected officials are not acting as a voice for the very people they're paid to represent; and they're angry that their voices are going unheard. Although the Obama Administration loves to downplay the civil unrest in this country as a bunch of loony Fox-news-watching 'teabaggers,' it would be interesting to see them take a crack at this one; it's essentially impossible to demonize a network of mothers.

One, literally, could not portray a group of concerned mothers as "terrorists" or "war-mongers" or paint them to be the byproduct of a hate-filled astroturf movement. According to Frank Luntz, among the top four most trusted professions in America, mothers ranked number one. Mothers are trustworthy, and their feelings and concerns are genuine. So it's not surprising that when that emotional legitimacy is moved into organization, it's very effective. In spite of the media and social pressures on women to pursue careers outside the home (and downplaying the legitimacy of being a "stay at home mom" as a career in and of itself) lots of moms still find ways to organize socially. Mothers Against Drunk Driving or MADD, Mothers for Peace and other non-profit organizations are testaments to the power of organized moms. But even with the continued expectation of American moms to "do it all," juggling the demands of a career, keeping a home, being a wife, a tutor, a cook and essentially the CEO of the family, moms are still viewed as the nurturing, warm, safe place in the American family. I would argue that 'warm safe place' is going to prove a force to be reckoned with, in the national argument over expanding federal government.

The lives of women who choose to stay home and raise their children full time, exist largely within the four walls of their homes and so are often disconnected from other like-minded adults. Many moms, like Lori, express a feeling of "being alone" in their values, opinions, and concerns for the future of their children's America. By interacting with the same six or seven women in her weekly network for play dates, it's totally understandable that a woman would feel as though she were the odd ball out for not agreeing with the rest of the group ideologically. Because the media tries to instill fear in the hearts of vulnerable conservatives, it creates the illusion of ideological solitude. It tells you that the vast majority of Americans are as happy as pigs in mud to unquestionably trust the President, to have the government spend their money, control their healthcare, tax their paychecks away, and in the end, refuse to be held accountable for any of it. The American People are not really concerned, the media tells you, because Dancing with the Stars is on tonight! But with continual developments in social technology, the media can no longer keep the American mom stifled in her home.

The emergence of the blogosphere (accessible to any American with a computer) has suddenly made the world much, much smaller. Women now have access to other women, through interest groups and blogs, who share their concerns, validate each other's discontent and now have a means to organize and make their voices heard as a unit. Like geese flying in formation; the more geese you have flying, the less wind-resistance exists and the more efficiently you fly. If enough mothers get organized (and I believe and hope they will) through social networking sites or local community meetings and demand to be heard by the bureaucrats on Capitol Hill; our Senators, Congressmen, and the Obama Administration will be forced to stop poo-pooing the discontent of Americans, and listen to mom.

Squawking Never Sounded So Sweet

I'm noticing a trend.The civil unrest of Americans seems to be continually labeled as a manufactured product by the squawking Republican party. Article after article is published, downplaying the genuine discontent and concern of Americans over national issues, and painting it as emotionally charged, hate-filled semantics. As quickly as the Press can casually shrug off serious issues like the ACORN scandal, our school children singing Praise and Worship songs about President Obama, and unconstitutional healthcare legislation, controversial issues continue to surface almost daily. Media heavyweights like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are continually portrayed as intellectual pygmies, that no one in their right mind would take seriously. The truth of the matter is, the media is in no real hurry to reveal the ratings of Beck and LImbaugh, because they are crushing everyone else in talk radio. Perhaps their ratings are such as they are because Beck and LImbaugh are two very articulate, capable and talented men, but maybe it's also in part because Americans want to hear voices from the other side. Perhaps Americans are catching on to the liberal indoctrination trend of the mainstream media, and know they themselves are experiencing very real concern and anger- so they're not buying that the rest of the country's unrest has been fabricated by the GOP; a notion the mainstream media continually spoon feeds us every day.

Glenn Beck's face graced the cover of Time Magazine this week, with his tongue stuck out like a bratty toddler and the words, 'MAD MAN' beneath him. Very sublte. Fan or not, everyone can agree that Beck is no wall flower. He's intense and driving and does not hesitate to ask questions or report on things no one else in the media dare touch with a ten foot pole. Interestingly enough, both Limbaugh and Beck's ratings prove that more people are listening to them individually, than almost anyone else in talk radio. So the attack that they are ranting lunatics, is not only lobbed at Conservative Talk Radio, but its shrapnel can be felt cutting into the intellectual flesh of every American who takes these commentators seriously. Also, it's interesting to note that 'crazy' Glenn Beck was almost single-handedly responsible for bringing the ACORN tax-fraud/ prostitution scandal to light. The American people learned that one after another ACORN office was guilty of fraudulent behavior and promoting underage prostitution, largely with tax-payer money. The media and Obama downplayed the incident, of course, "Frankly, its not something I've followed closely. I didn't even know that ACORN was getting a whole lot of federal money," our President said. Yea, I'm sure you didn't, Mr. President. Either way, the House voted last week to cut off all federal funding for ACORN, which would probably have slipped under the radar and not been detected had Mad Man Glenn Beck not used his television program to expose the organization for the corrupt thieves they are.

Another note-worthy incident was Joe Wilson's gaff during the President's Health Care address to Congress, and it got more than its fair share of media coverage. Although the general consensus is that Rep. Wilson's outburst was inappropriate and disrespectful, that was the extent of his offense. Not that he accused the President of lying, but how he went about timing the accusation. The media spun the event to portray Wilson as guilty of daring to accuse The Omnipotent President of being untruthful, as if that were a sin in and of itself. No, Wilson violated the rules of democratic etiquette; that people should be allowed to state their case on the floor, even if you believe their words to be dishonest. It was wrong and tactless of him to interrupt the President's address, parties on both sides of the aisle agree there. We can move on. But his accusation was valid. Rep. Joe Wilson was correct; the President was not telling the whole truth in claiming illegal aliens would not be covered in his proposed healthcare legislation. He wasn't lying, per se, but he wasn't telling the truth either: Obama's favorite game. House Democrat's proposed bill does, in fact, offer financial assistance to illegal immigrants, because it does not require them (or any health insurance beneficiary) to verify legal status in this country before beginning to receive subsidies from the government. They can accurately say illegals aren't covered, because technically they aren't, but they most certainly could obtain coverage through the every-popular and ever-present "loophole" in the system. If we're not checking the legal status of those applying for the public option, what is to stop the nearly 12 million illegal immigrants in this country from applying for tax-payer funded public health coverage? Absolutely nothing. Also, Democrats were well aware of this gaping hole, because they TWICE voted down amendments to add a certification of legal status amendment to the healthcare legislation. Interestingly, after taking the bullet for the his own misstep, it appears Joe Wilson's outburst created enough media blitz to shed necessary light on the issue. In the days that followed the Wilson debacle, the White House moved to support adding a verification provision to the bill.

The mainstream liberal media would like to portray the anger and outrage of the American people as loud-mouthed pouting by the Republican party for the loss of the 2008 election. The media portrays the GOP as capitalizing on the opportunity to sensationalize important issues. And that might be true in part, except that serious political opposition figures, like Newt Gingrich and John McCain are not part of the media machine, and they too are very openly critical and equally outraged, not just by the unconstitutional legislation being put forth by the Obama Administration, but by the blind eye The Administration turns to partisan corruption. Perhaps the right wing media is sensationalizing the controversy, but publicity is publicity. In a nation where the media is almost entirely partisan, save one news network, publicity is the only tool that brings the corruption of Washington D.C. into the living rooms of the American people, and forces the government to be held accountable. I've noticed the trend of the mainstream media to laugh off criticism from the right, as though it were the temper tantrum of a 2-year-old that is to be tolerated with a smirk. Besides the American people being smart enough not to fall for that, all of this outspoken accusation from conservatives just may be functioning as a useful tool to expose injustice, grossly misspent American tax dollars, and less than ethical provisions for anyone physically in this country, except (apparently) those of us with social security numbers, who go to work everyday and pay our taxes.

ACORN 101

What's all this buzz about ACORN lately?

For those of you who have heard of ACORN, but are not familiar with the broader social context of the organization, this is for you. ACORN (the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now) is a "grassroots" non-profit organization, formed to advocate for low and moderate-income families by working on social issues such as neighborhood safety, healthcare, and voter registration among other things. ACORN was heavily involved with Barack Obama's campaign for President in 2008, and was later investigated for voter registration fraud when they were found to be registering individuals multiple times, registering deceased Americans, as well as making up fictitious names completely, to vote Democrat in the '08 election. More recently, ACORN has been investigated for tax fraud, embezzlement, management fights, and fraudulent behavior of its employees in several branch offices across the country. This past week, a new controversy involving the promotion of underage sex trafficking and prostitution, led the United States Census Bureau (which is responsible for keeping count on the US population) to terminate it's partnership with ACORN saying, "Unfortunately, we no longer have confidence that our national partnership agreement is being effectively managed through your many local offices. For the reasons stated, we therefore have decided to terminate the partnership."

ACORN operates under the guise of aiding the needy, but in reality they exploit the very people they pretend to assist. ACORN rallies up the uneducated, poor, and vulnerable Americans, and in the case of the voter fraud specifically, employs these individuals for slightly more than minimum wage. This income is more than these people would be able to earn otherwise, so they have an incentive to stay employed by ACORN and meet the requirement to keep that employment. Herein lies the rub; as an ACORN employee, you are required to register a specific number of voters as well as registering new members to join ACORN, in order to meet the necessary quota to keep your job. In this way, when effectively operating on a massive scale, the organization and those behind it can create a social movement to reflect the political interests of the organization, which are decidedly ultra-left.

Liberals are big fans of saying Republicans only care about the wealthy, and need to create polices that keep the rich wealthy in order to stay in power. Well, if that's true, then conversely, liberals only care about the poor, and need to KEEP THE POOR POOR in order to stay in power. That is why liberal policy seemingly aids the less fortunate, but in reality, those leftist policies never get the needy out of their lower socio-economic strata. ACORN capitalizes on this.

ACORN gets 40% of its revenues from American taxpayers, and has spent nearly four decades funding political campaigns and agendas of those that promote the welfare state, and undermine capitalism and individual responsibility. Our President worked for ACORN as a "leadership trainer," in the early days of his political career in Chicago, but his current affection and support for the organization is no secret. In a speech to ACORN community organizers, before his inauguration, The President promised ACORN they would help shape the agenda of his Administration. Watch his speech to ACORN community organizers here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMQ20wNhB_M

Scared, yet? You should be.

This week, two ACORN offices, one in D.C. and one in Baltimore were caught with an undercover camera helping a pair of journalists posing as a pimp and prostitute subvert the law. The video from Washington shows an ACORN "tax specialist" offering to help the 'pimp and prostitute' acquire illegal home loans to set up a brothel. The tax specialist tells the 'prostitute,' to lie on her tax form and say she is a 'performing artist,' when she files her taxes so she will qualify for aid. Very ethical. Both of the associates on the video were fired on Thursday, after the video surfaced. But not 24 hours later, two more ACORN employees were fired from a Baltimore office when the undercover journalists videotaped the ACORN workers showing the supposed pimp and prostitute how to falsify tax forms. ACORN workers were also very helpful in aiding the pimp and prostitute to seek illegal benefits for 13 "very young" girls from El Salvador. The pair said they wanted to import them to work as child prostitutes.

Watch the undercover videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWRTYD26Kxc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9MCk6GvQO4

When stories like this started popping up, I heard the refrain, "It's just a few bad apples, it doesn't reflect the agenda of the entire organization." (Funny, that isn't the mentality when the topic is controversy over 1% of priests being charged with pedifilia in the Catholic Church.) However, as days and weeks pass, the corruption of more and more ACORN offices across the nation is exposed and America is seeing ACORN for what it really is.

We have an organization that is not only encouraging tax fraud, but is perpetuating the sex trade by giving free housing for the purpose of establishing a brothel, with the hard earned dollars of Americans who get up everyday and work hard to make a legitimate living. This is where our tax money is going, to the destruction of young women's lives and the perpetuation of illicit, illegal, and fraudulent behavior. Needless to say, it makes me question the integrity of our President, that he stands behind an organization that is capable of this type of immorality. Although he, of course, does not support the controversial behavior of these specific employees, he's been in bed with ACORN since the beginning of his career as a community organizer. This organization is corrupt from the ground up, and with the staggering amount of tax dollars at their disposal, Americans literally cannot afford to let this organization continue.

Associated Press Exploits Dying Marine

Sensationalism trumps ethics once again in the Associated Press this week, when a graphic photograph of a fatally wounded young marine, in the last few moments of his life, was published on the front page of several American newspapers. The 21-year-old, Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard, died just moments after the picture was snapped, he's shown bleeding from his fatal wounds as he's attended by his fellow Marines in a futile attempt to save his life. The picture is disturbing on many levels, but perhaps the most unsettling is how the death of one of our heroes is being exploited to sensationalize the war.

US. Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, expressed his outrage at the publication of this photo, and rightly so. The Bernard family stated they did not want the photo published, for completely understandable and justified reason, but the AP published anyway. I cannot fathom how devastating it must be for the Bernard family to see pictures of their son curled in the mud, suffering through the final moments of his life, strewn across the front pages of newspapers. Defense Secretary Gates expressed a similar sentiment in addressing the AP, "Your lack of compassion and common sense in choosing to put this image of their maimed and stricken child on the front page of multiple American newspapers is appalling." Thank God the White House didn't let this unacceptable and blatantly disrespectful incident slide. The AP Director of PHotography, Santiago Lyon, responded saying, the Associated Press felt it was their "journalistic duty to show the reality of war there, however unpleasant and brutal that sometimes is." Needless to say, the agenda behind the exploitation of such a sensitive photograph is clear; to use the death of one of our brave Marines to disseminate anti-war propaganda. My heart goes out to the Bernard family, for this additional suffering in a time of inconceivable loss, and in appreciation for their sacrifice and the service of their heroic son.

MSNBC Spins Town Hall Gun-Toters as Racism

The news media just keeps getting more and more fun everyday, doesn't it? On August 18th, MSNBC news reporters did a segment on gun-toting protesters and their attendance at town hall meetings, specifically the one lead by President Obama in Phoenix, AZ last week. One particular gentleman that seemed to be the focus of the broadcast reportedly arrived at the President's town hall, with an AR-15 semi-automatic assualt rife slung over his shoulder, and a pistol on his hip. Now, if this were a commentary on the relationship between people bringing weapons with them to town hall meetings and the general feeling of civil unrest in our country right now, that would have been an interesting factoid about the gentlemen with the guns.

However, MSNBC didn't go that route. Far from it. The anchorwoman goes on to state, "...there are questions as to whether this has racial overtones. I mean, here you have a man of color in the presidency and white people showing up with guns strapped to their waist." The camera then cuts to a clip of the torso of a gentleman in a white button-down long sleeve shirt, with aforementioned firearms on his person. And the discussion continues, "There is tremendous anger in this country about government...anger about a black person being president. You know, we see these hate groups rising up and this is definitely part of that." Now, that's a serious accusation, lobbing this man into a racist hate group because he is carrying a firearm.

Ok, so we have white angry people showing up to town hall meetings with guns, to intimidate our President? Or is it black people in general, that these gun owners hate? Which is it, MSNBC? They made it clear, in this report, that the gun issue here was about race. Angry white people carrying guns because we have a black president. I think we're beginning to wear a hole clean through the ol' race card because it's being played so much in this administration. Oh but it doesn't stop there. The reporter went on to say, "I'm not gonna be surprised if we see somebody get a chance and take a chance to really try to hurt him [President Obama], and it's up to the Secret Service to make sure it doesn't become history. 'Cause there's so much anger in the country about him, and about government." God forbid. Why would you even breathe that thought on a news broadcast?

And the icing on the cake, ladies and gentleman. Interestingly enough, CNN reported on the same town hall meeting, but they actually interviewed the man with the AR-15, who scandalously admitted the gun was loaded (Of course it was loaded. Why would you bring a gun anywhere that wasn't loaded? That makes about as much sense as having a car but not putting any gas in it.) And guess what folks? That angry racist loaded-semi-automatic-assault-rifle-carrying man.... was, in fact, a black man. MSNBC cropped his head out of the pictures during their broadcast, so all you could see was his white shirt and his guns. You can view the contrasting videos side by side and see for yourself:

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/busted-msnbc-caught-dishonestly-editing-town-hall-gun-footage/

Was this just sloppiness on the part of MSNBC or intentionally manipulated to perpetuate an agenda? You make the call. Either way, it's unacceptable. And to add insult to injury, not only did they misreport on the man's race but they overtly accused pro-gun town hall participants of being racist. If FOX news were responsible for a gaff of this magnitude, you would see it broadcast on every channel at every hour for a week straight.


So perhaps, just perhaps, the anger at these town hall meetings is not a right-wing conspiracy orchestrated by the GOP, but reflecting some genuine outrage at our government, our elected officials, and the media's spin on the whole thing. I believe the unrest is a truly American attempt to fight back. And the unrest we see at these town halls gives me hope, that not every American is complacent and comfortable and disinterested. I would also like to add that the man was not breaking the law, he had a concealed carry permit in the state and had every right to carry those weapons wherever he wanted to, including to a town hall meeting where Our President was speaking. That's what the second amendment is. It's a right... to bear arms. And he was bearing them. I might add, if this trend of government expansion continues, and the Fed gets its sticky fingers into all sects of American life, and the rest of our nation wakes up and decides it wants to put the brakes on this whole "let the government take care of me" attitude, the socio-economic ball may just be rolling too fast at that point. And it's only going to be the armed Americans who are going to be able to protect themselves and their families. That's why the second amendment exists. To constitutionally protect the American people from its own government, which I remind you, is most definitely armed.

"...and the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Hardback Thieves

One of my favorite places, literally in the world, is the bookstore. I'm home there. I love to be surrounded by the works of my heroes, by the texts of budding authors, and ultimately by a massive amount of information at my disposal. I am always in awe of how much I don't know in a bookstore and my appetite is whetted to learn new things. That being said, my love of the bookstore comes from my profound respect for authors and their craft. To build a world out of words, to construct whole human beings with histories and scars, to paint sceneries and smells out of diction alone, and invest your readers into the fate of a character that is so real- they move in the struggle of the protagonist as if it were their own. So I find nothing more completely outrageous than people having the audacity to publish works that rip off the genius of true authors.

The newest wave of thievery is the vampire rage created by Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. Now, walking into the store, you are bombarded with books about vampires. A few years ago, it was The Da Vinci Code ripoffs everywhere. Books about cracking the code, breaking down the mystery, exposing the truth! (Everyone failed to notice the word "novel" on the cover, I guess) And I'm not fan of Dan Brown and his mass manipulation of Catholicism and its history, but the line of people who jumped on board to cash in on his writing was never ending. And it's not ethical.

And here comes the real atrocity. If I had a nickel for every book I've stumbled upon that rips off Jane Austen, I would be a rich woman. To her credit, almost every modern love story in existence has borrowed the romantic plot line of Pride and Prejudice. But I'm talking about overtly blatant robbery. Books with titles like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or "Mr. Darcy's Lover/ Letter to Elizabeth/ Daughters" Mr. Darcy Presents his Bride, are authored by looters. There is no simpler way to put it. These people and the companies that publish them are nothing short of thieves, can't come up with their own art, so they piggyback off the success of someone else to pay homage to the almighty dollar. And not only that, but they bastardize the genius of the original work. How dare you, random name-not-worth-mentioning-author, have the gall to brazenly pick up where a timeless classic left off and continue those characters and that story in your barely C+ writing style.

It's really outrageous. And it does seem that there are bigger fires worth putting out in this world, but understand that I love these works. I respect the authors of truly great works. They have significantly impacted my life and helped shape me into the woman I am today. I have no time for sensationalism, in literature or otherwise. So yes, this is me- angry about books.

Free money AND a new car?! Sign me up!

I was reading an article today by Dick Morris on the Cash for Clunkers program. I'm sure everyone has seen the commercials on TV for their local car dealerships, urging you to come trade in your "clunker" for up to $4,500 in government money towards the purchase of a new car. Cash for Clunkers is one of the programs created to spend some of that $787 Billion that was supposed to be saving the world. Originally, the program had $2 Billion dollars worth of taxpayer dollars behind it, which we promptly blew through in four days. So the government dumped another $2 Billion into the program, and we're back in business. But are we?

Cash for Clunkers seems great, right? Who doesn't want "free money? Money in exchange a rusty old '82 Silverado pickup? And to boot... we get to get rid of all those gas guzzling rattle-traps and get some new, sleek, fuel-efficient, eco-friendly, "green is the new black" cars on the road. This program seemingly does it all; gives money to people for junk, stimulates the auto industry, sells cars that save the earth, etc. etc. etc. Now, I know what you're thinking. "You're such a cynic, Briana." But bear with me, here.

Eco-friendly. Where are all of these hundreds and thousands of "clunkers" going? To a trash heap somewhere. ::gasp:: We've made trash. And a lot of it, all at once. Instead of hundreds and thousands of these cars making their way off the road over years time, they're all being retired together. And what energy, electricity, power and resources are being expended to make all of these new cars? Now I'm not a big proponent of people driving ridiculous four-mile-to-the-gallon Hummers, or single people shlepping around in Suburbans (although those people have a right to own and drive whatever car they so desire) but I don't know that we're really saving the earth from gobs of unnecessary pollution by speeding up the process, and getting these old cars off the road. What are we going to do with all of this garbage?

The cake topper on all of this is the facts about the cars being traded in and purchased through this program. All ten of the top ten car models being traded in, with Cash for Clunkers, are American cars. All ten. And consequently, six out of the top ten cars being purchased (and four out of the top five!) are foreign. Now it would be a violation of the World Trade Organization rules to skew a policy to favor domestically manufactured products, and I am not suggesting that, but this is not stimulating any economy except Japan's! This is not creating jobs, it's just making a lot of money for the few dealerships who are willing to sign up and wait with their hand out, for their government checks. This is why government getting its sticky fingers all over the free market doesn't work, because there are unintentional consequences all over the place. This Cash for Clunkers program proves, in the words of Mr. Morris, "that Barack Obama is the best president Japan has ever had."

(according to the Department of Transportation)

Top 10 Trade-Ins

1. Ford Explorer
2. Ford F150 Pickup 2WD
3. Jeep Grand Cherokee 4 WD
4. Jeep Cherokee 4 WD
5. Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan
6. Chevrolet Blazer 4 WD
7. Ford Explorer 2 WD
8. Ford F150 Pickup 4 WD
9. Chevrolet C1500 Pickup 2 WD
10. Ford Windstar FWD Van

Top 10 Purchased Cars

1. Toyota Corolla
2. Ford Focus FWD
3. Honda Civic
4. Toyota Prius
5. Toyota Camry
6. Ford Escape FWD
7. Hyndai Elantra
8. Dodge Caliber
9. Honda Fit
10. Chevrolet Cobalt